Document Type : Primary Research paper
Authors
1
Manipur International University, Imphal, Manipur, India
2
Career Point University, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India
3
Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Abstract
Children must be adequately fostered during their formative years to mature into contributing members of society. Because children are society's most vulnerable group, they are more prone to different forms of abuse, particularly sexual assault. Using children for sexual pleasure, which is the definition of child sexual abuse, is a flagrant violation of human rights. When children do not tell adults about the situation, it quickly increases and takes on a worldwide scale, bringing bodily, emotional, and psychological harm to them.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, was the first law approved by the Indian government to address child sexual abuse and exploitation, and it included harsh punishments. However, as evidenced by recent gang rape instances in Unnao and Kathua, the Act's implementation is poor, and law enforcement officials have no interest in prosecuting the perpetrators of this horrible crime. As a result, the government has been forced to revise the Act to increase its effectiveness.
From the contributing reasons to the consequences of the crime, the current study examines the difficulties surrounding child sexual abuse in India. It critically examines the existing legal framework, emphasizing the recently enacted modifications to the POCSO Act, examining their effectiveness, and providing further approaches for successfully dealing with this heinous crime. This research also looks at child sexual abuse in India from the 1970s to the 1990s.
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